What is the difference between a cap, crown, veneer, and metal-free restorations?
There is a very big difference. As technologies evolve, materials we use in the mouth also change. The way we fabricate the restorations for teeth is completely different. We really no longer need or want to use metal in the mouth. That was “yesterdays” technology and it has been around since the 1900’s. Porcelain has been baked over the metal and that’s why there was always a dark gray or black area on the gum-line around the metal restoration. Cements were used to fill the space between the tooth and metal. They always looked fake and even the best ceramist couldn’t always do the porcelain well. The metal free restorations are usually less invasive, look more like enamel, and are laser bonded right onto the tooth. These are more conservative restorations whether we do an inlay-onlay, veneer, ¾ or partial crown, or a full crown. The strong enamel is left intact and only the weakest part of the tooth is removed and replaced. The bonding creates a better seal with the tooth than a cemen
